The David Mayfield Parade

STRANGERS, Mayfield’s first album with Compass Records, is a tour de force, stretching from the avant-garde to Mayfield’s musical roots, which are buried deep in the bluegrass tradition from a childhood of touring with his family’s band. Tracks range from the Celtic-inspired opener “Caution,” which features Mayfield’s deft ability in orchestrating complex instrumentation, to “The Man I’m Trying to Be,” a sharply honest song that is as dark and it is tender. Mayfield is truly a wordsmith, forging the mundane into the evocative in each track, most notably with “Ohio (It’s Fake),” whose innovative lyrics are propelled from acoustic beginnings into a pure pop finish, Mayfield’s trembling tenor rising above the grooving band. With the release of Strangers, David Mayfield is clearly going places, fueled by a deadly combination of infectious energy and songwriting chops that only come around once in a blue moon.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the artist